Address: 610 East De la Guerra Street
A knee-high sandstone wall surrounds the one-story cottage at 610 East De la Guerra Street. The main entrance is highlighted with a modest Greek-revival-style porch that is framed by two large windows ornamented with leaded-glass panels. However, when the home was built in 1913, the main entrance was on Salsipuedes Street. Like the home at 610 East Victoria Street that I wrote about in June, the home’s address was changed in the 1980s. The address was originally 736 Salsipuedes Street.
The stone wall is not original to the home, but it’s fitting for a home built by Italian immigrants since much of the stonework in Santa Barbara was created by them. According to historian Erin Graffy in a 1995 article in Noticias, the “Eastside Italians” settled in the area “bounded approximately by Milpas, Haley, State, and Anapamu.… Some had no family, they knew no one in town, they did not know the language. But all arrived here willing to work hard to make a fresh start, to embark on a new life. They won friends, married, had children, built profitable businesses, launched successful careers. Most of all, the Italians of Santa Barbara earned the respect and affection of their community and became a valued and integral part of the everyday life of their adopted home.”